Stihl Inc. and Goodwill Industries International are being recognized by the Reusable Packaging Association.
The power tool maker and the non-profit organization are winners of the 2017 Excellence in Reusable Packaging award from the association.
Stihl began using reusable plastic containers to move components between production lines and to ship and exchange components between manufacturing facilities, RPA said.
That move reduced the amount of cardboard returned for recycling by more than 760 tons per year, the association said.
"At Stihl Inc., environmental stewardship is part of our core values and we continually seek ways to improve our environmental impact and employ sustainable business practices. We are proud of the fact that our reusable packaging not only reduces waste, but also allows for efficiencies in our production process," said Herbert Taute, manager of industrial engineering and continuous improvement, in a statement.
Goodwill, meanwhile, replaced wood pallets and paper fiber boxes with an Orbis Inc. reusable pallet and a sleeve system for bulk storage and stacking. Goodwill was able to increase warehouse utilization by 50 percent with the change.
"This year, we received the highest number of applications since the award program was established in 2011," said RPA CEO Tim Debus, in a statement. "The innovation reflected in all the entries was outstanding and the field was very competitive. However, the significant business and environmental results achieved by Stihl Inc. and Goodwill made their submissions stand out."
The winners will be recognized on Sept. 26 at the RPA Reusable Packaging Learning Center at Pack Expo in Las Vegas.
